Airbnb Hosts Find Papal Visitor Reality Doesn’t Live Up to the Hype

As the papal visit draws closer, an interesting phenomenon is at work. Remember in the spring when the pope’s visit was announced and it seemed like everyone in Philadelphia (plus the surrounding areas) with an extra room was hustling to get it listed on Airbnb for a hefty nightly fee? Well, as you may or may not have noticed, these opportunistic listings are largely sitting untouched. The International Business Times recently ran a story on hotel and home rental vacancies that still exist in the final weeks leading up to the pope’s visit. What they have found, basically, is that the most expensive rentals are those that are sitting, ignored.

The pope will give a mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, pictured.

One of the reasons that the expensive rentals aren’t going anywhere, say experts, is because perhaps the opportunistic hosts misunderstood their audience. The flock of faithful teeming into Philly for Pope Francis’ visit aren’t deep-pocketed tourists like Made In America concert ticketholders; they are pilgrims on a visit of major religious significance to them. Consequently, they may not have a lot of money and are much more willing to tolerate discomfort to be able to see the pontiff. There are large groups of Catholic visitors sleeping on the floors of churches and fitness centers, as well as camping in the park. The papal visitors simply aren’t the type to rent a home for $500 per night.

Of course, we are heading into papal crunch time. It remains to be seen whether some of these pricey rentals will be snapped up at the last second by those who have no other place to go or those who decide last-minute that they need to see the pontiff. Only time will tell.